“That’s it! That’s the answer!”
Louis quickly told everyone to climb onto Shining Star’s back.
“Shining Star can’t run through them,” exclaimed Mr. Bixbee. “They would pounce on us before we could break through. We are greatly outnumbered.”
“Of course we can’t run through them. We are surrounded on all sides. But we won’t be surrounded if we go up! Shining Star will fly us over the Xombos!” Louis said.
“Do you think you can do it?’ asked Louis.
“I do not know if I have enough strength to support all of you, but I will try,” replied Shining Star
“Let’s go. Quickly!” said Louis.
Shining Star braced himself as Louis, Crystal, Gus, and Mr. Bixbee climbed on. He had never carried so much weight before. His legs felt wobbly and weak.
“Go, Shining Star! Start flying!” shouted Crystal.
Shining Star flapped his wings as hard as he could. The Xombos watched, mystified at what was happening until they realized their dinner was about to escape. They rushed in menacingly.
“I can’t do it! Everyone weighs too much. I can’t get off the ground. I can’t do it!” Shining Star cried.
“Wait, let me get off. Maybe that will help you get away. . .”
They all looked in disbelief. It was Gus who volunteered.
“Gus, if you stay here, the Xombos will eat you alive! We can’t leave you behind. Either we all go, or we don’t go at all!” exclaimed Crystal.
“Yes! Crystal is right. You were brave enough to come here and help us. We’re not leaving you behind,” Louis flatly stated to Gus.
“Come on, Shining Star! You’ve got to get off the ground!” Crystal shouted.
The Xombos ran as fast as their tall, spindly legs could carry them. Some Xombos were so excited that they fell down and caused many others to stumble over them. If the situation weren’t so life-threatening, the sight of Xombos falling and tripping over one another would have been hilarious. But this was no laughing matter.
Then, without warning, Shining Star started to run toward the Xombos.
“Hey! Are you crazy? What do you think you’re doing?” Crystal shouted in Shining Star’s ear.
Shining Star’s strategy was to gain enough speed to take off into the air. Faster and faster, he galloped. The Xombos were momentarily stunned by the Zeeboo’s unexpected act.
At last, Shining Star felt himself lift off the ground. The strain of all the weight on his back was unbearable. Carrying two small children was easy enough, but now he had three children and a full-sized adult. His wings felt as though they would fall off at any moment. His whole body screamed in pain.
“We’re going higher! We’re going higher!” Gus yelled.
Shining Star flew away from Mr. Bixbee’s house with all the Xombos running furiously in pursuit. They looked below and saw the Xombos jumping and waving their fists in anger. They had escaped!
“Great work, Shining Star! You did it! You saved us all!” said Louis happily.
But Louis’s celebration was premature. Shining Star started to lose altitude. The strain was too much for him. Although they were farther away from the Xombos, they were not far enough to be safe.
“The Xombos are still after us. Fly faster, Shining Star!” shouted Crystal.
“I can’t go on any longer. It hurts too much!” Shining Star groaned in anguish.
The Xombos were madly chasing them from below. Their hungry eyes glowed brightly in anticipation of capturing their elusive prey.
“We’re going to crash! If we don’t die from that, the Xombos are sure to finish the job when they catch up to us!” Gus shouted.
Shining Star was becoming weaker by the second. He no longer had the power or strength to stay in the air. He began to descend and fall through the air.
“Everyone! Hang on to each other as tightly as you can!” shouted Shining Star.
With the last bit of strength he had, Shining Star spread his tired wings out as wide as possible and circled back toward Mr. Bixbee’s house. The famished Xombos reversed course and pursued them with increased intensity.
Mr. Bixbee, Louis, Crystal, and Gus held on to each other desperately. It was obvious they were going to crash, but what was Shining Star up to?
“There, down below. That’s where I want to go,” he said.
They dropped faster and faster, spinning out of control.
“I’ve got to believe I can do it. I’ve got to believe!” he said to himself.
With all his might and soul, he made one last attempt to steer himself toward his mark. He spread his aching wings once again and swooped toward the crash site. Miraculously, he was just able to make it over his target. He abruptly pulled both of his wings in.
“We’re falling! This is it!” Gus said in shock.
The ground rushed quickly toward them. They waited silently for the sound of their bodies hitting solid ground. They were terrified and shut their eyes.
In the short remaining seconds left, Louis thought about his home, family, and friends. He truly wished he could have a second chance to return to the quiet life he had before, but it was futile. In a matter of moments, he and his friends would cease to exist. Or so he thought.
“Here we go!” shouted Shining Star.
They hit the ground with a thud. However, the ground wasn’t hard, as they expected it to be. It felt as if they had fallen into a soft pillow. There was a sound of a “whoosh” and then, sudden darkness.
All of them remained silent. Were they dead? Were they alive?
“I did it! I did it!’ Shining Star exclaimed. “Unbelievable! It’s unbelievable!”
Louis, Crystal, Gus, and Mr. Bixbee heard Shining Star’s voice but could not see a thing. Louis tried to get up in the darkness but was engulfed by soft material that felt like blankets. Some were soft and some were rough, but what was even stranger was the fact that he felt sleeves and buttons on them.
Louis understood and shouted, “Hey! I know where we are! Shining Star came back to the hill of sweaters. We’re probably buried by them!”
“Right you are,” said Shining Star. “I realized I didn’t have enough strength to land safely, so I did the next best thing — I circled back and crashed into the sweaters!”
“Why didn’t you tell us you were going to do that? I was scared stiff!” Gus said.
“No one asked me,” laughed Shining Star.
In the darkness underneath all the hundreds of thousands of sweaters was the sound of muffled giggling and laughter of five very happy and fortunate survivors.
“Let’s climb out of here!” shouted Louis to the others.
They struggled, squirmed, and grunted in the darkness to make their way out. It was hard and laborious work, but they kept each other’s spirits up by encouraging one another.
One by one, they surfaced to the top. Gus made it out first, followed by Crystal, Shining Star, and, lastly, Mr. Bixbee.
“We made it! WE MADE IT!” Crystal shouted with glee.
The others were congratulating each other when Gus noticed something. “Hey, where’s, Louis?” he asked.
In all the excitement of escaping the Xombos, they hadn’t noticed Louis was missing. However, this was the least of their troubles. They heard familiar and frightening sounds approaching closer.
“Xombos!” Mr. Bixbee said. “Apparently, we are not out of danger yet,” he said gravely.
Shining Star put a great deal of distance between themselves and the Xombos, but the monsters would not give up so easily. Their long legs enabled them to run at an extremely fast pace. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived at the sweater hill.
“What are we going to do now? We can’t just leave Louis down there!” said Crystal with concern and worry on her face.
If they stayed, they would be wiped out. If they made a run for it, they might have a chance, but Louis would be left to face the Xombos alone, that is if he ever surfaced.
“We stay and fight!” Cry
stal said suddenly with tears in her eyes. “We have to stay and fight! I don’t care if there are a million Xombos. Louis is my friend and I’m not going to run away and leave him behind. If you others want to run away, go ahead. But I’m not going to leave my friend for anything! Do you hear me? Not for anything!”
Crystal’s loyalty to Louis was remarkably strong. But if Crystal were in a similar situation, Louis would stay by her side as well. Crystal would always be there for Louis, and Louis would always be there for Crystal. This was understood by both of them because this was how best friends felt about each other.
After Crystal’s announcement, the rest of the group was certain about what they had to do.
“We fight until the Xombos leave or none of us are left!”
All heads turned to the unexpected words coming from Mr. Bixbee’s lips.
He continued, “We have to protect Louis. We have to fight off the Xombos. Please do not be mistaken, I still abhor violence, but Crystal has demonstrated her courage by her willingness to stay and protect Louis, even if it means placing her own life in jeopardy. I consider this act of Crystal monumentally brave. I can — we can do no less.”
They agreed with Mr. Bixbee, but they still felt apprehensive and anxious. Doing the right thing was not always easy. Crystal’s example helped them to overcome some of their fears but there were still many doubts in their minds. Could they actually fight against the Xombos and win? What if they couldn’t defeat them? How long could they hold out? Would they even live through this and tell the tale?
A voice startled them from behind and said, “Hey, guys. I guess I’m a slow poke. Why is everyone looking so worried?” asked Louis
Crystal gave a loud shriek and hugged him so hard his face started to turn beet red.
“You’re alive!” she screamed with happiness.
“Of course I am,” he said embarrassed by all the attention she demonstrated toward him.
“I was caught on a sweater down below. I was moving up pretty fast until my arm got stuck in the sleeve of one. I was struggling to get my arm out, but it was too hard. I figured it was easier to just put the sweater on and take it off after I made it outside to the top.”
Crystal stared at Louis in disbelief.
“What’s the matter, Crystal? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost or something,” laughed Louis.
“I haven’t seen a ghost, but didn’t you notice something unusual about the sweater you are wearing?”
“No. It was dark down there, so I couldn’t see a thing. Why?
“I think you should take a look at that sweater now,” Crystal suggested.
Louis thought Crystal was acting strangely but humored her and inspected the sweater. He saw the design of a dog-like creature on each sleeve. He gasped in astonishment.
“It’s my sweater! This is the sweater I lost when Gus threw it down the garbage can. This is the sweater my mom gave to me on my birthday. We can go home now!”
Louis couldn’t believe his good fortune. It was impossible, but Louis had somehow “found” his sweater. Or, perhaps, it should be stated, the sweater found him.
“Let us not rejoice too quickly,” Mr. Bixbee said.
“Why? Isn’t this what we were hoping for?”
“Yes. But if you will look below, you’ll see why I hesitate to celebrate.”
They peered over the brink of the hill of sweaters. Way down below, they saw hundreds of Xombos climbing up the sides of the hill, all of them with one purpose — to make sure their victims would not escape again.
“I guess, I spoke too soon. I definitely spoke too soon.” Louis murmured.
CHAPTER 9
THE CONCLUSIVE CONFLICT
They all shuddered at the dreadful sounds. The howling came closer. They were running rapidly out of time.
Fortunately, for Louis and his friends, the sweater hill was the highest and largest of all hills, which would take the Xombos some time to climb up. But, unfortunately, they were trapped at the top with nowhere to run. Shining Star was completely spent and could not even lift his wings to glide them to safety.
“Well, there is good news and bad news,” said Louis.
‘What’s the good news?” asked Gus.
“We’re still alive and well,” replied Louis.
“And what is the bad news?”
“We won’t be alive and well for long.”
“That’s just great. We’re about to be eaten by monsters and you’re making jokes,” Crystal said annoyed.
“Sorry. I was just trying to lighten things up a little.”
“Bad timing,” Crystal replied.
“Yes, bad timing,” Louis agreed.
Louis thought about the situation they were in and realized he was the reason his friends were in mortal danger. If they hadn’t stayed to protect him, they might have had a chance in escaping. Louis felt miserable.
“I’m sorry I caused you all to stay behind. If it weren’t for me you all would have–”
Louis’s apology was abruptly cut short. The first Xombo reached the top and came up behind Louis. Everyone shook in terror at the sight of the Xombo towering high over Louis.
“Louis, do something! There’s a Xombo right behind you!” screamed Crystal.
Louis looked up at the menacing figure and was fascinated by the Xombo’s tall, skinny legs. Louis immediately had an idea on how to defeat the horrible looking creature.
He stepped up to the Xombo and shouted, “Hey you! I bet you can’t catch me! You’re too slow and old. Come on! I dare you to catch me!” he taunted the monster.
This infuriated the Xombo. The monster let out a howl so horrible and frightening that the hairs on the back of Louis’s neck stood on end.
Crystal thought Louis had lost his mind. What was he thinking? She thought it was definitely not a good idea to make a Xombo mad.
Louis ran away with the Xombo close in tow. The Xombo made several attempts to swat Louis with his enormously long hands, but missed each time.
“Ha, what did I tell you? You’re too slow!” Louis taunted.
This enraged the Xombo even more. It screamed in frustration and pursued recklessly after Louis.
Louis ran directly toward the edge of the hill. Just before he got to the drop off point, he suddenly stopped and quickly sidestepped to his right. The unexpected move surprised the Xombo. The hungry creature was so intent on capturing Louis that he failed to notice where he was heading. He tried to stop but his momentum carried him past Louis and over the edge.
“Nooooooooooo!” screamed the Xombo. He crashed, cartwheeled, and collided into the other Xombos below. This started a small avalanche of Xombos hurtling down the hill of sweaters.
Crystal laughed with delight as she saw the Xombo’s bad turn of fortune. She could hear them grunting and groaning while bouncing off each other like steel balls against the bumpers of a pinball machine.
“Ha! Take that, you ugly Xombos!” she shouted.
But their troubles were far from over. The other Xombos were making their way up and over the top of the hill. Their faces were twisted with hate and hunger.
“I don’t think they will fall for that trick again,” Louis said to the others.
Twenty Xombos headed directly for Louis. They formed a circle around him. Crystal and the rest of his friends scampered under the legs of the Xombos and formed another smaller circle around Louis in order to protect him.
“Well, I guess this is it,” she said.
The scariest and meanest looking Xombo spoke in a low, gravelly voice.
“What a fortunate turn of events. Now, we can eat all of you at once! How very civil of you to accommodate all of us in this way. I guarantee, we will make a quick meal of you so as to lessen your suffering,” he laughed with sarcasm.
More Xombos were arriving every second until all of them had arrived. They pressed in on Louis and his friends. If Louis had any glimmer of hope of escaping, it was all but gone now.
The Xombo spok
e again and said, “I would like to introduce myself. I am Bonxu, the ruler of the Xombo tribes. As their leader, I am entitled to be the first one to partake of the food, namely you!”
“I will allow you several minutes to bid each other farewell before we commence,” Bonxu continued.
If anything, at least the Xombos were polite.
Crystal whispered to Louis, “There are so many of them. How can we possibly fight them all? Louis you’ve got to think of something and fast! You’ve always been good at thinking up ways to get out of trouble. It’s time that you put that talent to use!”
Louis couldn’t help chuckling at Crystal’s comment. He appreciated the irony of the situation. Back home, Louis was always getting into trouble in school. But somehow, he always managed to figure a way out. If there was a time when he needed to use that “talent,” it was right now, but his mind was a blank.
Gus said to Louis, “You know, it was a lot easier when we were fighting in the schoolyard. At least, it was fair. There were only the two of us.”
“Yeah, if only there was just one Xombo to fight, we might have a better chance,” Crystal agreed.
“Well, there are hundreds of them and not just one. It is futile to speculate what could have been. We cannot change the situation,” Mr. Bixbee said solemnly.
“It is almost time for you to die. Please prepare yourselves. You have one minute left to bid farewell to one another,” Bonxu announced.
The tribe chattered in excitement and anticipation.
Shining Star whispered to Louis and said, “In every situation, no matter how hopeless it may seem, there is always hope.”
Louis responded, “I appreciate your faith, Shining Star, but with so many Xombos to fight. . .with so many to fight. . .so many to fight. . .”
He kept repeating the phrase over and over as though it were a mantra. Somehow, he sensed there was an answer within the words, but what was it? He felt it was obvious, but he couldn’t quite see it. It was as hard as trying to remember a dream after waking up. You could almost remember, but it was just beyond your grasp.
“It is time!” Bonxu said.
“Yes, it is time,” Louis repeated. “Of course,” he said to himself. “Of course!”
Louis in the Land of Tetra Page 8